Typically I seem to think about a book for a year or so before I actually start writing. In this thinking stage, I often write a few key points in my “ideas” notebook. At this stage, I merely put down bullet points or mnemonics that will remind me of what I was thinking. This can be very useful later on, particularly if the gestation period for a book is several years. Titles are also handy to jot down. The right title can be very useful as the seed from which the whole idea of the book can grow.
Planning
For all my longer works (i.e., the novels), I write chapter outlines so I can have the pleasure of departing from them later on. Actually, while I do always depart from them, writing a chapter outline is a great discipline for thinking out the story and it also provides a road map or central skeleton you can come back to if you get lost. I often write the prologue or initial chapter first to get the impetus for the story going and then write the outline. Usually, I have to write a revised chapter outline two or three times in the course of writing the whole book, but once again it does focus the mind on where the story is going and where you want it to go.
Writing
Short stories, articles, and items on my website I type straight into the computer (mostly a Macintosh, though I also use a PC) in Microsoft Word. However, I write the novels longhand first. Nowadays I use a Waterman fountain pen (for Shade’s Children and Lirael), though I used felt-tips earlier. I was interested to see that Stephen King wrote one of his recent novels with a Waterman fountain pen. He reportedly found that this did influence the actual style of the book.
The advantages of writing longhand are several, at least for me. First of all, I write in relatively small handbound notebooks which are much more transportable than any sort of computer, particularly since you can take them away for several weeks without having to consider power supplies, batteries, or printouts. Parts of Sabriel, for example, were written on a trip through the Middle East. Parts of Shade’s Children and Lirael were written at the beach.
The other major advantage of writing longhand is that when I type up a chapter from my notebook, I rewrite as I type, so the first printout is actually a second draft. Sometimes I change it quite a lot, sometimes not so much, but it gives me a distinctive and separate stage where I can revise.
The first page of the first chapter of Sabriel (as opposed to the prologue, which I wrote earlier, before I did my chapter outline) was actually written in a spiral-bound notebook, which I tore out and pasted into my preferred black and red notebook (8 1/4” x 6 1/4” or 210mm x 160mm “sewn memo book”).
At the typing stage, I cleaned up the writing a bit and it had further minor revisions later, but in this case at least, it stayed much the same. You can see the original manuscript page and compare it to the finished version on my website.
Which brings me to revising.
Revising
As I said, when I type the handwritten words, I am also carrying out my first major stage of revision. However, I usually have to go through at least two revision stages after that. The first of these is when I first print out the typed chapter. I go through it and make changes in pen, which I will incorporate later. The second stage (and sometimes a third time as well) occurs when the entire manuscript is finished for the first time. I leave that big, beautiful pile of printout on the shelf for a few weeks, then sit down and read the whole thing, making corrections as I go.
Finally, I bundle the ms. off to my Australian and U.S. publishers and wait for their reaction(s), which generally will include some suggestions for revision and occasionally a request for rewriting. Sometimes these will be good, worthwhile changes and I work them in. Sometimes they are not, and I argue about them and — unless I can be convinced otherwise — refuse to alter the text. Basically, I try and keep an open mind, since there is nearly always room for improvement.
Staying Motivated
I’m often asked by aspiring writers how I can invest a year or more in writing a full-length novel.
My stock answer is that I never sit down and think “I have to write a novel today.” I sit down and think “I have to write a chapter,” or “revise a chapter,” or “finish the chapter.” That way, it’s only ever 2,500-5,000 words that are the immediate goal.
As a further motivational gimmick, I always use the word count utility when I’ve finished typing a chapter, and write that down, with a running total of words and the date in the front of my first notebook for the current work (each novel takes between five and six of those red and black numbers). I also write down the music I’ve been listening to as I write and anything else that might be interesting to look back upon. Like the fact that I uploaded my first home page on 19 April 1996!
The word count is a relatively small thing, but it has an amazing psychological effect, particularly as more and more chapters appear and the word total grows. I find it very encouraging, particularly in the first third of the book, which always seems to take the majority of the time.
Summary
Here are several one-liners that sum up my writing philosophy. Some I’ve made up and some are probably paraphrases of other people’s sayings, only I can’t remember who said what. (Though I think the “read, write, revise” one is from Robert Heinlein.)
“You can’t write if you don’t read.”
“Just write one chapter at a time and one day you’ll be surprised by your own finished novel.”
“Writing anything is better t
han not writing something perfect.”
“Read, write, revise, submit, repeat.”
“Expect rejection, but don’t let it stop you submitting again.”
“Submit the very best work you can, not the first draft. Always read it again before you send it.”